Ranking: Number three in the U.S. and number six in the world, with 63.7 million passengers. Location: Eighteen miles southwest of central Los Angeles, with extensive nearby hotel accommodations. Major Airlines: No single airline dominates LAX, which is a featured destination for Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, Southwest, and United. All other large domestic lines also serve LAX, which is an important Pacific gateway and is served by major international lines in all three alliances: Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance. Layout: The landing field has four parallel runways. Passenger facilities are in nine separate terminals. Terminals 5 (Delta), 6 (Alaska, United), and 7 and 8 (United) are connected by airside walkways; all other interterminal transfers require exiting and reentering security—a major hassle for interline connections. LAX has no people movers. Performance: 81 percent of departures and 79 percent of arrivals are on time, the average departure delay is 45 minutes and arrival delay is 53 minutes, and cancellations are at 1.1 percent. Ground Transportation: The rail connection is poor: A shuttle bus connects to a light-rail line that doesn't go downtown, although plans call for a future light-rail line that goes directly to the airport. Taxi fares are meter plus a $4 surcharge. Prime Time Shuttle and SuperShuttle operate vans throughout the large Southern California metropolitan area (around $15 to downtown Los Angeles or Beverly Hills). Major car-rental shuttles pick up on the lower arrivals level; others pick up at a consolidated facility connected to the airport by a shuttle bus. Alternate Regional Airports: The greater Southern California metro area is served by five other airports. Burbank's Bob Hope Airport (BUR) is more convenient for Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and much of the San Fernando Valley, with a mix of regional and long-haul flights. Long Beach Airport (LGB) is convenient to San Pedro, Palos Verde, and several beach communities and is an important hub for JetBlue. Orange County's John Wayne Airport (SNA) is the airport of choice for visitors to Anaheim's Disneyland, with mostly regional flights. LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT) mainly serves the Southern California's Inland Empire region in Riverside and San Bernardino counties with a mix of long- and short-haul flights. LA/Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) currently has no scheduled service but promises future growth.
We did a day trip to the Getty Center located about 20 miles north of LAX on the 405 Freeway. Note: the Getty Center is closed on Mondays. Art can stir a passion, and this museum doesn't disappoint. Welcoming over a million visitors a year, the center sits atop a hill connected to a visitors' parking garage at the bottom of the hill by a three-car, cable-pulled tram. It is one of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum. This branch of the museum specializes in "pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts; and 19th- and 20th-century American and European photographs". Among the works on display is the painting Irises by Vincent van Gogh. Besides the museum, the center's buildings house the Getty Research Institute (GRI), the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the administrative offices of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which owns and operates the center. Along with art, there are memorable city views from this cliff-top museum. Website: http://www.getty.edu/ . The wine at the café is amazing. In addition to the museum there is the Villa, which was the former site of the museum in Malibu. The collection outgrew the this original site and the current museum was built and opened in 1997. After the center opened, the villa closed for extensive renovations and reopened on January 28, 2006, to focus on the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The Villa is closed on Tuesdays. It would be difficult to visit both sites on the same day. For a different, cultural day-trip, visit the Getty! After the Getty we headed to Dodger Stadium for a ballgame. Just south of the Stadium at 1001 N Alameda is the home of the original French Dipped Sandwich at Philippe the Original (Website: https://www.philippes.com/ ). It ranks up there as a great place for lunch or dinner!
Enjoy!
Mike Mike Summers - March 2010 (Manhattan/Hermosa Beach Area):
We travel to California often, but usually go to Orange County instead of LAX. When we go to LAX, we rent a car and head south of the airport on Sepulveda Boulevard. About six mikes south of the airport, Sepulveda Blvd becomes the Pacific Coast Highway as you enter Hermosa Beach. In Hermosa Beach, it's an easy right turn onto Pier Avenue as you head toward the water and beach. Here's a map: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-map-474279-map_of_hermosa_beach_ca-i . Where Pier Avenue ends, turn right onto Hermosa Avenue. There's Public Parking between 13th and 14th Streets on Hermosa Avenue. Pier Avenue is a pedestrian mall near the beach. Numerous restaurants and drinking establishments dot the area. Here's two websites for Hermosa Beach: http://www.hermosawave.net/ and http://www.beach-house.com/hermosa-beach-coastside-restaurants.html . If you want breakfast in a nice location, go to Scotty's on the Strand. My wife and I first ate there in 1993. It's still a great place to start the day (Website: http://www.scottysonthestrand.com/ ). We really enjoy Waterman's for their shrimp appetizer and dinners (Website: http://watermanshb.com/ ) on Pier Avenue. Hennesy's is also a popular place right along the beach at the end of Pier Avenue. A table on the rooftop deck is a great location for an afternoon adult beverage. It's a chain, but a good one. Check out their website: http://www.hennesseystavern.com/hermosa_beach.html . If you're around in the evening, head over to "The Comedy and Magic Club" at 1018 Hermosa Avenue (Website: http://comedyandmagicclub.com/index.cfm ) where Jay Leno performs almost every Sunday night at 7:00 PM along with other great comics throughout the week. You can walk along the concrete boardwalk (The "Strand") from Hermosa north to Manhattan Beach. You can go as far north as Santa Monica (20 miles), but a walk to Manhattan Beach (6 miles round-trip) is great exercise. We usually stop at the Brew Co in Manhattan Beach for lunch when we're there. It's address is 124 Manhattan Beach Blvd. It's on a steep hill just above the Manhattan Beach Pier. Here's their website: http://brewcomb.com/ . They serve really good Greek Gyros and a huge variety of beer. They also have numerous TV's for watching Sunday NFL games. You'll see plenty of volleyball games and ample amounts of sand as you walk along the Strand. The million dollar homes along the strand are worth looking at as you walk north to Manhattan Beach. It's a great relaxing one-day or two-day trip. We love our trips out there. Take a day trip and find out for yourself!
Enjoy!
Mike Summers Cheryl Hydrick - October 2007:
Taxi's from LAX to Beverly Hills charge a flat rate of 45.00. Public buses from there are easy and cheap to anywhere in LA. YouTube Travel Tips Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/tamiralu?v=UpHSR2KtN3c . Be sure to get a cupcake from SPRINKLES, the chai latte and black and white are great. 3. 25 for one, but worth it. Lines are long all day long.
Also get green tea ice cream from PINKBERRY. It is amazing. These two places are famous in Beverly Hills and frequented by the celebs. There is a promenade and farmers market in Santa Monica that has very good shopping and great bands that set up in the street, similiar to Boulder. Cheryl Hydrick - July 2007:
A travel tip we learned the hard way. While in Los Angeles we rented a car. Two months later we received a copy of a notification
of a parking ticket from the County of Los Angeles that was sent to the car rental company The parking violation ticket was for $70.00 which was then doubled because we didn't pay it within 30 days (140.00). We checked the calendar and indeed, we were at that location at that time but my husband was sitting in the car while I ran in a store for 5 minutes. No officer stopped and issued a ticket and he saw no police car
I called my family who happens to own a large insurance company in Los Angeles and they verified that in California you can be issued a traffic ticket and there is no paper ticket that is handed to you. The police can just take a picture of the license plate and car!! Long story short, we paid the fine because my husband was guilty of sitting in a "red zone" and according to Caifornia law that is subject to a $70.00 fine.
So, Scouts, just be aware when you are in California that the same thing doesn't happen to you. The state must get a lot of revenue from unsuspecting tourists, or know that the car is a rental so the driver is not familiar with California state laws. Mike Summers - November 2011 (Venice Beach Area):
Just a short twelve minute drive north of LAX along Sepulveda Blvd to Lincoln Blvd to Venice Blvd is the beach town of Venice, California. It's the home of a great boardwalk ("Oceanfront Walk") where you can watch street performers, listen to music, and walk by "Muscle Beach". Once you've visited, you'll understand where all the 20 year olds disappear to if they don't go to college. I think that there are more T-shirt shops, tattoo parlors, and medical marijuana doctors here that anywhere else on earth. Venice has lots of funky shops along the circus called a boardwalk. Here's two other websites: http://www.laparks.org/venice/venice.htm and http://discoverlosangeles.com/guides/neighborhoods/beach-cities/venice-ocean-front-walk.htmlthat provide additional information about this unique beach. We parked on the street on Market Street about four blocks from the beach for free during our visit. There are city lots that were charging $6.00 per day in November, but I'd guess that they charge closer to $10.00 to $15.00 in the summer. The lots are right along the beach. My daughter and I played Paddle Tennis along the Boardwalk (I played as a kid). You can rent paddles and balls from a liitle shop called "Bikini Land of Venice' (1901 Ocean Front Walk) which is directly across from the courts and just south of the City of Los Angeles Recreation Department Building. Cost is $10.00 for two paddles and three balls for the entire day (the courts are free). Websites for Paddle Tennis: http://venicebeach.com/article_paddletennis.php and http://www.yelp.com/biz/paddle-tennis-courts-on-venice-beach-boardwalk-venice . Many of the rich and famous call Venice their home. Here's one website that gives you general information: http://www.venicebeach.com/about.php . While there you will want to check out the multi-million dollar homes along the famous canals (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice,_California). The canals are only about four blocks from the beach boardwalk on South Venice Blvd. It's like entering another world from the beach atmosphere. Many movies and TV shows were filmed here (Websites: http://www.westland.net/venicehistory/articles/movies.htmand http://venicebeachwalkingtours.com/venice_and_the_movies/ ). There are plenty of places to eat, but they're not as good as the Great Western Steak Shack, which is not on the boardwalk. Cash only, but great food (Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/great-western-steak-and-hoagie-company-venice ). It's on Lincoln Avenue just north of the Venice Blvd turnoff. I've attached a link rating the many establishments along the Oceanfront Walk: http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=venice+beach+restaurants&find_loc=Venice%2C+CA#l=p:CA:Venice ; the food choices are okay along the Boardwalk. The Sidewalk Cafe may be the best with an extended happy hour and nice seating if you can be along the boardwalk to watch what's happening. Here's the website: http://thesidewalkcafe.com/. Happy hour is Mon. through Fri. from 4:00 to 7:00. Some other places along the Boardwalk are the Venice Ale House (Website: http://venicealehouse.com/ ), or the Fig Tree Cafe & Grill (Website: http://www.figtreescafe.com/ ), or the Venice Whaler (Website: http://www.venicewhaler.com/ ). You can look at their menus on these links to help you decide. Without having stayed overnight anywhere nearby myself, I'd guess that the Venice Beach Hotel is among the nicest in the area. It looked quite clean and was in an ideal location. Here's the website: http://www.veniceonthebeachhotel.com/ . I've visited many beaches in the LA area. Venice Beach has a unique atmosphere and is worth visiting.
Enjoy the Sunset!
Mike Summers Rus Dewitt - December 2012:
While in LA we took a free docent led tour of the Disney Concert Hall, Dorthy Chandler Pavillion and the other venues of this spectaular performing arts center. It is well worth your time and effort. I think the tours are at 10:30 and 12:30 daily. Great history architecture and just cool information. Across the street is the City of Angels Catholic Church, a fifty million dollar modern marvel. Don't miss the masoleum downstairs.There is also a very good recenyly redone park with sculptures and water features between the church and the performing arts center. This makes for a good morning or afternoon activity.
Mike Summers - January 2013:
Decided to to a day-trip and sit in the audience of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I went on-line to request tickets on Monday morning for a Thursday show (Jay Leno Ticket Request Website: http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/tickets/ ). I sent my request at 6:00 AM and by 11:00 AM I had received an email confirming my request. I took the early Thursday Frontier flight to LAX, rented a car at Thrifty, and took a quick run at Manhattan Beach before driving up to Burbank at Noon. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tapes on the NBC Burbank lot in Studio 11, located just off of the 134 freeway. The pedestrian entrance is on Bob Hope Drive or East side of the facilities. Street parking in the area is limited but can be found on surrounding side streets such as Bob Hope and Riverside Drive. I was lucky enough to find a spot. A paid parking option ($5.00 cash only) is located on California Street underneath the Clear Channel building. Another paid parking area is also available in the surface lot across the street from the NBC entrance. Enter on Parkside Dr. just east of Bob Hope Dr. The Tonight Show studio address is 3000 W. Alameda Avenue, Burbank, CA 91523. The confirmation sheet says to arrive by 2:45 PM. I got there at 1:15 PM and was number 31 in line. They have seats for over 200 people. I was lucky enough to get a seat on the floor where the people give Jay a high-five when he walks out at the start of the show. The taping begins at 4:00 Pacific Time for that night's broadcast. I was back in my car at 5:15 PM and managed to drive about 20 miles on the 405 freeway back to LAX, put gas in my rental car, drop off the rental car, ride the shuttle, get through LAX security, and be at the gate by 6:30 PM for the 7:05 PM return flight. I had printed my boarding pass the night before I left. I was able to watch the show on the flight home. It was a lot of fun! Give it a try!
Mike Summers - February 2014 (Long Beach area):
Headed out to Long Beach and the cruise ship terminal by way of LAX. From LAX you can skip renting a car and take the Super Shuttle (Website: https://reservations.supershuttle.com/Default.aspx?content=Rate ) for $17.00 per person. If you fly out of Denver the day before your cruise, consider spending the night next to the cruise ship terminal on the Queen Mary (Website: http://www.queenmary.com/ ). The Queen Mary is a neat experience (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary ) and is across the harbor from many Long Beach restaurants. A car is the most convenient way to get around Long Beach. Most areas of Long Beach have free parking but be aware that much of Downtown Long Beach has pay parking lots. The free bright red Passport buses (Website: http://www.lbtransit.com/Services/Passport.aspx ) serves the Long Beach downtown and waterfront attractions. The Passport consists of four bus routes connecting tourist and shopping sites. Passport A: Belmont Shore, crosstown from Catalina Landing through Downtown to Alamitos Bay Landing; Passport B: Village Tour, in the Downtown area; Passport C: Pine Avenue/Queen Mary, from Downtown to the Aquarium, Queen Mary, and the cruise ship terminal (Cruise Ship Terminal: http://sanpedro.com/spcom/crusshp2.htm ); Passport D: Los Altos, from Catalina Landing through Downtown to California State Long Beach and Los Altos shopping center. All four Passport routes converge at the downtown Transit Mall (Pine Ave and 1st St), where one can make transfers. Passport B and Passport C are FREE; Passports A & D are FREE only in the Downtown area between Catalina Landing and Alamitos Avenue. For dining, we enjoyed the Belmont Brewing Company (Website: http://www.belmontbrewing.com/ ) for their food and beer, it's located south of the Queen Mary. Whether you're cruising or not, check out Long Beach.
Elise Goshorn - July 2014 (The Price Is Right!!)
When we started as Scouts, we were asked what place would we want to travel. A friend (Denise) said she wanted to go to the Price Is Right! Well, we did it. Stayed at the Hyatt near the airport (not cheap $179/night) but did include breakfast and reception each night. It's also just a mile away from the Dockweiler State Beach http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=617. Really nice beach and it's $8.00 day to park right on the beach area or you can park on the road for free and hike down the hill. The beach is at the end of the runway for LAX so you get to have jets fly right overhead. Rented a car because it's the same price as taking a shuttle and taxi.
The Price Is Right is fun! Do plan to spend the whole day for one taping. We went in the afternoon and had priority tickets (get those at On Camera Audiences http://www.on-camera-audiences.com) so we were guaranteed entry into the show. The actual taping is only about an hour and a half. Most of the other six hours is standing in line filling out forms, getting your id checked (even more than TSA!! LOL) and having a very brief interview. I am not sure how they pick contestants - they breezed over us and spent time with two ladies in our group who were retired.
It was too much fun and next I'm going to Let's Make A Deal!!! I'll take curtain number two please, Wayne!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Los Angeles Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Los_Angeles,_California
Hollywood Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Los_Angeles/Hollywood
Downtown Los Angeles Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Los_Angeles/Downtown
Los Angeles Harbor Area Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Los_Angeles/Harbor_Area
Venice Beach Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Venice_Beach
Manhattan Beach Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Manhattan_Beach
Hermosa Beach Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Hermosa_Beach
Burbank Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Burbank
Beverly Hills Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Beverly_Hills
Long Beach Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Long_Beach
Los Angeles International Airport Information:
Ranking: Number three in the U.S. and number six in the world, with 63.7 million passengers.
Location: Eighteen miles southwest of central Los Angeles, with extensive nearby hotel accommodations.
Major Airlines: No single airline dominates LAX, which is a featured destination for Alaska Airlines, American, Delta, Southwest, and United. All other large domestic lines also serve LAX, which is an important Pacific gateway and is served by major international lines in all three alliances: Oneworld, SkyTeam, and Star Alliance.
Layout: The landing field has four parallel runways. Passenger facilities are in nine separate terminals. Terminals 5 (Delta), 6 (Alaska, United), and 7 and 8 (United) are connected by airside walkways; all other interterminal transfers require exiting and reentering security—a major hassle for interline connections. LAX has no people movers.
Performance: 81 percent of departures and 79 percent of arrivals are on time, the average departure delay is 45 minutes and arrival delay is 53 minutes, and cancellations are at 1.1 percent.
Ground Transportation: The rail connection is poor: A shuttle bus connects to a light-rail line that doesn't go downtown, although plans call for a future light-rail line that goes directly to the airport. Taxi fares are meter plus a $4 surcharge. Prime Time Shuttle and SuperShuttle operate vans throughout the large Southern California metropolitan area (around $15 to downtown Los Angeles or Beverly Hills). Major car-rental shuttles pick up on the lower arrivals level; others pick up at a consolidated facility connected to the airport by a shuttle bus.
Alternate Regional Airports: The greater Southern California metro area is served by five other airports. Burbank's Bob Hope Airport (BUR) is more convenient for Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena, and much of the San Fernando Valley, with a mix of regional and long-haul flights. Long Beach Airport (LGB) is convenient to San Pedro, Palos Verde, and several beach communities and is an important hub for JetBlue. Orange County's John Wayne Airport (SNA) is the airport of choice for visitors to Anaheim's Disneyland, with mostly regional flights. LA/Ontario International Airport (ONT) mainly serves the Southern California's Inland Empire region in Riverside and San Bernardino counties with a mix of long- and short-haul flights. LA/Palmdale Regional Airport (PMD) currently has no scheduled service but promises future growth.
Mike Summers - June 2010 (Hollywood Area):
We usually go to the beaches (see below), but on this day trip my son and I headed to the La Brea Tar Pits, Rodeo Drive, and Hollywood. The La Brea Tar Pits are just that -- tar pits that smell like hot tar. It's a place where they excavate prehistoric animals. Here's two websites:
http://www.tarpits.org/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Brea_Tar_Pits . It's an educational visit, and if you have kids that like fossils, take them. Here's directions from LAX airport (about 30 minutes): http://www.tarpits.org/info/direction.html . From La Brea my son and I went to the world famous Rodeo Drive to do some celebrity watching (Website: http://www.rodeodrive-bh.com/index4.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodeo_Drive . It's only a ten minute drive from the Tar Pits (Directions: http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Los+Angeles&1s=CA&1a=5801+Wilshire+Blvd&1z=90036-4539&1y=US&1l=34.062442&1g=-118.354972&1v=ADDRESS&2c=Beverly+Hills&2s=CA&2a=%5B100-199%5D+S+Rodeo+Dr&2z=90212&2y=US&2l=34.06603&2g=-118.401215&2v=BLOCK . After walking around Rodeo Drive, we headed to Hollywwod Blvd and Grauman's Chinese Theatre (websites and maps/directions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grauman%27s_Chinese_Theatre and http://www.seeing-stars.com/Immortalized/ChineseTheatreForecourt.shtml ). The famous forecourt represents a who's who of Hollywood legends. You can also visit and walk along the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Website: http://www.seeing-stars.com/Immortalized/WalkOfFame.shtml ). The best parking is north of Hollywood Blvd on Highland Ave right before the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel (map: http://kodaktheatre.com/parking.htm ); it's only $2.00 with any type of validation like buying a soda. When I was 21, I was a paid extra in "Breaking Away" (Breaking Away trailer: http://theoscarsite.com/screening_room/928.html ), which was nominated as Best Picture in 1979 (other nominees were: Norma Rae, All That Jazz, Apocalypse Now, and Kramer Vs Kramer -- quite the competition). I told my son that I was revisiting my Hollywood roots! :-) I would recommend taking one of the many Hollywood Tours that visit the homes of the stars. We did Hollywood Tours, and here is their website: http://www.hollywoodtours.us/?gclid=CMLO_8DuwaUCFYHc4Aodk0PWYg. Don't be afraid to barter the price. I got our tour for $15.00 per person (Regular $39.95, but it was a slow day). You might want to stop at Pink's Hot Dogs (Websites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink%27s_Hot_Dogs and
http://www.pinkshollywood.com/ ) for their world famous hot dogs on the corner of La Brea and Melrose Avenues in Hollywood. It opened in 1939 and has been at the same location since 1946. You can also stop at the In-N-Out Burger; here's a website for Hollywood Restaurants: http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-spo&p=Hollywood%20Restaurants&type=. Another West Hollywood institution is Canter's Deli (Website: http://www.cantersdeli.com/home ). It's located at 419 N Fairfax Ave (Between Beverly and Melrose). We heard the Melograno (Website: http://www.cheflazzarino.com/ ) was a nice Italian Restaurant with great gnocchi, but we didn't stop. It was a fun daytrip to one of the more unique cities/areas.
Enjoy!
Mike Summers
Mike Summers - February 2013:
We did a day trip to the Getty Center located about 20 miles north of LAX on the 405 Freeway. Note: the Getty Center is closed on Mondays. Art can stir a passion, and this museum doesn't disappoint. Welcoming over a million visitors a year, the center sits atop a hill connected to a visitors' parking garage at the bottom of the hill by a three-car, cable-pulled tram. It is one of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum. This branch of the museum specializes in "pre-20th-century European paintings, drawings, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and decorative arts; and 19th- and 20th-century American and European photographs". Among the works on display is the painting Irises by Vincent van Gogh. Besides the museum, the center's buildings house the Getty Research Institute (GRI), the Getty Conservation Institute, the Getty Foundation, and the administrative offices of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which owns and operates the center. Along with art, there are memorable city views from this cliff-top museum. Website: http://www.getty.edu/ . The wine at the café is amazing. In addition to the museum there is the Villa, which was the former site of the museum in Malibu. The collection outgrew the this original site and the current museum was built and opened in 1997. After the center opened, the villa closed for extensive renovations and reopened on January 28, 2006, to focus on the arts and cultures of ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria. The Villa is closed on Tuesdays. It would be difficult to visit both sites on the same day. For a different, cultural day-trip, visit the Getty! After the Getty we headed to Dodger Stadium for a ballgame. Just south of the Stadium at 1001 N Alameda is the home of the original French Dipped Sandwich at Philippe the Original (Website: https://www.philippes.com/ ). It ranks up there as a great place for lunch or dinner!
Enjoy!
Mike
Mike Summers - March 2010 (Manhattan/Hermosa Beach Area):
We travel to California often, but usually go to Orange County instead of LAX. When we go to LAX, we rent a car and head south of the airport on Sepulveda Boulevard. About six mikes south of the airport, Sepulveda Blvd becomes the Pacific Coast Highway as you enter Hermosa Beach. In Hermosa Beach, it's an easy right turn onto Pier Avenue as you head toward the water and beach. Here's a map: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-map-474279-map_of_hermosa_beach_ca-i . Where Pier Avenue ends, turn right onto Hermosa Avenue. There's Public Parking between 13th and 14th Streets on Hermosa Avenue. Pier Avenue is a pedestrian mall near the beach. Numerous restaurants and drinking establishments dot the area. Here's two websites for Hermosa Beach: http://www.hermosawave.net/ and http://www.beach-house.com/hermosa-beach-coastside-restaurants.html . If you want breakfast in a nice location, go to Scotty's on the Strand. My wife and I first ate there in 1993. It's still a great place to start the day (Website: http://www.scottysonthestrand.com/ ). We really enjoy Waterman's for their shrimp appetizer and dinners (Website: http://watermanshb.com/ ) on Pier Avenue. Hennesy's is also a popular place right along the beach at the end of Pier Avenue. A table on the rooftop deck is a great location for an afternoon adult beverage. It's a chain, but a good one. Check out their website: http://www.hennesseystavern.com/hermosa_beach.html . If you're around in the evening, head over to "The Comedy and Magic Club" at 1018 Hermosa Avenue (Website: http://comedyandmagicclub.com/index.cfm ) where Jay Leno performs almost every Sunday night at 7:00 PM along with other great comics throughout the week. You can walk along the concrete boardwalk (The "Strand") from Hermosa north to Manhattan Beach. You can go as far north as Santa Monica (20 miles), but a walk to Manhattan Beach (6 miles round-trip) is great exercise. We usually stop at the Brew Co in Manhattan Beach for lunch when we're there. It's address is 124 Manhattan Beach Blvd. It's on a steep hill just above the Manhattan Beach Pier. Here's their website: http://brewcomb.com/ . They serve really good Greek Gyros and a huge variety of beer. They also have numerous TV's for watching Sunday NFL games. You'll see plenty of volleyball games and ample amounts of sand as you walk along the Strand. The million dollar homes along the strand are worth looking at as you walk north to Manhattan Beach. It's a great relaxing one-day or two-day trip. We love our trips out there. Take a day trip and find out for yourself!
Enjoy!
Mike Summers
Cheryl Hydrick - October 2007:
Taxi's from LAX to Beverly Hills charge a flat rate of 45.00. Public buses from there are easy and cheap to anywhere in LA. YouTube Travel Tips Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/tamiralu?v=UpHSR2KtN3c . Be sure to get a cupcake from SPRINKLES, the chai latte and black and white are great. 3. 25 for one, but worth it. Lines are long all day long.
Also get green tea ice cream from PINKBERRY. It is amazing. These two places are famous in Beverly Hills and frequented by the celebs. There is a promenade and farmers market in Santa Monica that has very good shopping and great bands that set up in the street, similiar to Boulder.
Cheryl Hydrick - July 2007:
A travel tip we learned the hard way. While in Los Angeles we rented a car. Two months later we received a copy of a notification
of a parking ticket from the County of Los Angeles that was sent to the car rental company The parking violation ticket was for $70.00 which was then doubled because we didn't pay it within 30 days (140.00). We checked the calendar and indeed, we were at that location at that time but my husband was sitting in the car while I ran in a store for 5 minutes. No officer stopped and issued a ticket and he saw no police car
I called my family who happens to own a large insurance company in Los Angeles and they verified that in California you can be issued a traffic ticket and there is no paper ticket that is handed to you. The police can just take a picture of the license plate and car!! Long story short, we paid the fine because my husband was guilty of sitting in a "red zone" and according to Caifornia law that is subject to a $70.00 fine.
So, Scouts, just be aware when you are in California that the same thing doesn't happen to you. The state must get a lot of revenue from unsuspecting tourists, or know that the car is a rental so the driver is not familiar with California state laws.
Mike Summers - November 2011 (Venice Beach Area):
Just a short twelve minute drive north of LAX along Sepulveda Blvd to Lincoln Blvd to Venice Blvd is the beach town of Venice, California. It's the home of a great boardwalk ("Oceanfront Walk") where you can watch street performers, listen to music, and walk by "Muscle Beach". Once you've visited, you'll understand where all the 20 year olds disappear to if they don't go to college. I think that there are more T-shirt shops, tattoo parlors, and medical marijuana doctors here that anywhere else on earth. Venice has lots of funky shops along the circus called a boardwalk. Here's two other websites: http://www.laparks.org/venice/venice.htm and
http://discoverlosangeles.com/guides/neighborhoods/beach-cities/venice-ocean-front-walk.htmlthat provide additional information about this unique beach. We parked on the street on Market Street about four blocks from the beach for free during our visit. There are city lots that were charging $6.00 per day in November, but I'd guess that they charge closer to $10.00 to $15.00 in the summer. The lots are right along the beach. My daughter and I played Paddle Tennis along the Boardwalk (I played as a kid). You can rent paddles and balls from a liitle shop called "Bikini Land of Venice' (1901 Ocean Front Walk) which is directly across from the courts and just south of the City of Los Angeles Recreation Department Building. Cost is $10.00 for two paddles and three balls for the entire day (the courts are free). Websites for Paddle Tennis: http://venicebeach.com/article_paddletennis.php and http://www.yelp.com/biz/paddle-tennis-courts-on-venice-beach-boardwalk-venice . Many of the rich and famous call Venice their home. Here's one website that gives you general information: http://www.venicebeach.com/about.php . While there you will want to check out the multi-million dollar homes along the famous canals (Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice,_California). The canals are only about four blocks from the beach boardwalk on South Venice Blvd. It's like entering another world from the beach atmosphere. Many movies and TV shows were filmed here (Websites:
http://www.westland.net/venicehistory/articles/movies.htmand http://venicebeachwalkingtours.com/venice_and_the_movies/ ). There are plenty of places to eat, but they're not as good as the Great Western Steak Shack, which is not on the boardwalk. Cash only, but great food (Website: http://www.yelp.com/biz/great-western-steak-and-hoagie-company-venice ). It's on Lincoln Avenue just north of the Venice Blvd turnoff. I've attached a link rating the many establishments along the Oceanfront Walk:
http://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=venice+beach+restaurants&find_loc=Venice%2C+CA#l=p:CA:Venice ; the food choices are okay along the Boardwalk. The Sidewalk Cafe may be the best with an extended happy hour and nice seating if you can be along the boardwalk to watch what's happening. Here's the website: http://thesidewalkcafe.com/. Happy hour is Mon. through Fri. from 4:00 to 7:00. Some other places along the Boardwalk are the Venice Ale House (Website: http://venicealehouse.com/ ), or the Fig Tree Cafe & Grill (Website: http://www.figtreescafe.com/ ), or the Venice Whaler (Website: http://www.venicewhaler.com/ ). You can look at their menus on these links to help you decide. Without having stayed overnight anywhere nearby myself, I'd guess that the Venice Beach Hotel is among the nicest in the area. It looked quite clean and was in an ideal location. Here's the website: http://www.veniceonthebeachhotel.com/ . I've visited many beaches in the LA area. Venice Beach has a unique atmosphere and is worth visiting.
Enjoy the Sunset!
Mike Summers
Rus Dewitt - December 2012:
While in LA we took a free docent led tour of the Disney Concert Hall, Dorthy Chandler Pavillion and the other venues of this spectaular performing arts center. It is well worth your time and effort. I think the tours are at 10:30 and 12:30 daily. Great history architecture and just cool information. Across the street is the City of Angels Catholic Church, a fifty million dollar modern marvel. Don't miss the masoleum downstairs.There is also a very good recenyly redone park with sculptures and water features between the church and the performing arts center. This makes for a good morning or afternoon activity.
Mike Summers - January 2013:
Decided to to a day-trip and sit in the audience of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. I went on-line to request tickets on Monday morning for a Thursday show (Jay Leno Ticket Request Website: http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/tickets/ ). I sent my request at 6:00 AM and by 11:00 AM I had received an email confirming my request. I took the early Thursday Frontier flight to LAX, rented a car at Thrifty, and took a quick run at Manhattan Beach before driving up to Burbank at Noon. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tapes on the NBC Burbank lot in Studio 11, located just off of the 134 freeway. The pedestrian entrance is on Bob Hope Drive or East side of the facilities. Street parking in the area is limited but can be found on surrounding side streets such as Bob Hope and Riverside Drive. I was lucky enough to find a spot. A paid parking option ($5.00 cash only) is located on California Street underneath the Clear Channel building. Another paid parking area is also available in the surface lot across the street from the NBC entrance. Enter on Parkside Dr. just east of Bob Hope Dr. The Tonight Show studio address is 3000 W. Alameda Avenue, Burbank, CA 91523. The confirmation sheet says to arrive by 2:45 PM. I got there at 1:15 PM and was number 31 in line. They have seats for over 200 people. I was lucky enough to get a seat on the floor where the people give Jay a high-five when he walks out at the start of the show. The taping begins at 4:00 Pacific Time for that night's broadcast. I was back in my car at 5:15 PM and managed to drive about 20 miles on the 405 freeway back to LAX, put gas in my rental car, drop off the rental car, ride the shuttle, get through LAX security, and be at the gate by 6:30 PM for the 7:05 PM return flight. I had printed my boarding pass the night before I left. I was able to watch the show on the flight home. It was a lot of fun! Give it a try!
Mike Summers - February 2014 (Long Beach area):
Headed out to Long Beach and the cruise ship terminal by way of LAX. From LAX you can skip renting a car and take the Super Shuttle (Website: https://reservations.supershuttle.com/Default.aspx?content=Rate ) for $17.00 per person. If you fly out of Denver the day before your cruise, consider spending the night next to the cruise ship terminal on the Queen Mary (Website: http://www.queenmary.com/ ). The Queen Mary is a neat experience (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Queen_Mary ) and is across the harbor from many Long Beach restaurants. A car is the most convenient way to get around Long Beach. Most areas of Long Beach have free parking but be aware that much of Downtown Long Beach has pay parking lots. The free bright red Passport buses (Website: http://www.lbtransit.com/Services/Passport.aspx ) serves the Long Beach downtown and waterfront attractions. The Passport consists of four bus routes connecting tourist and shopping sites. Passport A: Belmont Shore, crosstown from Catalina Landing through Downtown to Alamitos Bay Landing; Passport B: Village Tour, in the Downtown area; Passport C: Pine Avenue/Queen Mary, from Downtown to the Aquarium, Queen Mary, and the cruise ship terminal (Cruise Ship Terminal:
http://sanpedro.com/spcom/crusshp2.htm ); Passport D: Los Altos, from Catalina Landing through Downtown to California State Long Beach and Los Altos shopping center. All four Passport routes converge at the downtown Transit Mall (Pine Ave and 1st St), where one can make transfers. Passport B and Passport C are FREE; Passports A & D are FREE only in the Downtown area between Catalina Landing and Alamitos Avenue. For dining, we enjoyed the Belmont Brewing Company (Website: http://www.belmontbrewing.com/ ) for their food and beer, it's located south of the Queen Mary. Whether you're cruising or not, check out Long Beach.
Elise Goshorn - July 2014 (The Price Is Right!!)
When we started as Scouts, we were asked what place would we want to travel. A friend (Denise) said she wanted to go to the Price Is Right! Well, we did it. Stayed at the Hyatt near the airport (not cheap $179/night) but did include breakfast and reception each night. It's also just a mile away from the Dockweiler State Beach http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=617. Really nice beach and it's $8.00 day to park right on the beach area or you can park on the road for free and hike down the hill. The beach is at the end of the runway for LAX so you get to have jets fly right overhead. Rented a car because it's the same price as taking a shuttle and taxi.
The Price Is Right is fun! Do plan to spend the whole day for one taping. We went in the afternoon and had priority tickets (get those at On Camera Audiences http://www.on-camera-audiences.com) so we were guaranteed entry into the show. The actual taping is only about an hour and a half. Most of the other six hours is standing in line filling out forms, getting your id checked (even more than TSA!! LOL) and having a very brief interview. I am not sure how they pick contestants - they breezed over us and spent time with two ladies in our group who were retired.
It was too much fun and next I'm going to Let's Make A Deal!!! I'll take curtain number two please, Wayne!